Refrigerator



1942- B. J. TAYMANS ETAL 2,297,314

REFRIGERATOR Filed Feb. 27, 1941 2 0 2 2 iv I Jig. 7.

Patented Oct. 6, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE REFRIGERATOR Bernard J. Taymans and George M. Glazier, Baltimore, Md.

Application February 27, 1941, Serial No. 380,864

2 Claims.

The present invention relates to refrigerators, and in particular to means which may be secured to one of the inner walls for holding a container for liquids, such as drinking water.

It has heretofore been the practice to have a metal container for water permanently secured to the refrigerator and means permanently secured to the container for withdrawing the liquid, or to have a separate container, in the form of a jar, which is filled and placed within the refrigerator.

One object of the present invention is to provide means for supporting a removable container for cooling drinking water within a refrigerator in order that the water may be withdrawn therefrom without opening the door of the refrigerator.

Another object of the invention is to provide a supporting means for the water container which may be attached to the inside of a conventional type refrigerator with very slight changes.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a recess in the surface of one of the outer walls of the refrigerator into which the water may be piped, and which may receive a small container, such as a glass or cup.

While several objects of the invention have been specifically mentioned, other objects will be apparent from the specifications when taken in connection with the drawing which forms a part of the application, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical front view of a refrigerator from which the door has been removed.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the support for holding the liquid container, showing the pipe connection to the faucet. v

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view of the bracket and a portion of the refrigerator wall taken along the line 22 of Fig. 2, showing the manner in which the bracket is secured to the side wall of the refrigerator.

Fig. 4 is a side view of a portion of the side wall in which the recess appears.

Fig. 5 is a side view of the water container having a portion broken away to show the valve for releasing the liquid from the container.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view of a modified form of container. 7

Fig.7 isa plan view of the connecting pipe for connecting the bracket with a faucet located within the recess.

Referring in particular to the drawing, the invention comprises a cabinet 2 in which is positloned the customary refrigerating coils 4.

There is secured to one of the inner walls of the refrigerator cabinet 2 a bracket 6 for supporting a liquid container particularly adapted for dispensing drinking water. The bracket 6 is provided with standards I0 which extend upwardly along the outer side of the container 8 for supporting the same adjacent the wall upon which the bracket is positioned.

The bracket 6 is provided with a shallow well l2 having an opening l4 adjacent its bottom. Extending upwardly from the well i2 is an arbor or finger l6 for operating the valve in the container 8. Within the opening l4 there is placed a nipple I8 upon which the sealing nut 20 of the supply pipe 22 leading to the faucet 24 is secured. The bracket 6 is provided with apertures 28 along its bottom edge through which studs 26 are inserted for fastening the bracket in place.

The faucet 24 may be of any conventional type. However, the faucet 24 is shown with a pushbutton valve 30 and a liquid outlet 32,extending downwardly therefrom toward a glass, cup, or similar container 34. The supply pipe 22 being connected to the faucet by the sealing nut 36.

The liquid container 8 may be of any convenient size for supplying a suflicient amount of water, or other liquid, for the average use.

Along one side of the container is an opening about which extends a threaded neck 40. Threadably received upon the neck is a cap member 42 which is provided with a valve 44. This valve is so constructed that it remains normally closed when the container is not in the refrigerator.

At the rear end of the container 8 there is an outwardly and upwardly bevelled member 48 extending outwardly therefrom for supporting the container along the bracket when the container is being either inserted or removed from the bracket 6. The member 48 being slightly higher than the cap member 42 will prevent the cap from interfering with the base and member l6 until the container is in place when the member drops down beyond the point 6a of the base. The bevelled lug 48 engages the rear end of the bracket 6 at 48, Figure 5 and slides upwardly on said bracket at 48 for raising the rear end of the-receptacle sharply upwardly when the re ceptacle is being removed outwardly from the refrigerator for refilling purposes.

In Fig. 7 a modified form of the container is shown. In this form a permanent connection 50 is connected directly with the water supply line, and the supply pipe 52 is connected directly to the faucet 24.

With this arrangement, when the,

liquid is used from the container, an equal amount will be replaced within thetank through the pipe 60, and will always keep a sutlicieht,

cooled quantity stored within the refrigerator.

One ofthe walls of the cabinet of the raidserator is provided with a recess 33. This recess may be placed at any convenient spot about the outside wall, and is so formed that the faucet, or the container receiving the liquid, will not pro- Ject beyond the plane of the outer surface of the wall. The recess is provided, adjacent its bottom, wit a shallow well 31 as shown in Fig. 4, over which is positioned a perforated support 39. This perforated support and the shallow well 31 are removable in order to provide means for removingspillage which might occur in drawing ofi the liquid. I

uid within the bottle will flow out into the well until it has reached its proper level.

with this system it is readily seen that a water flask can easily and conveniently be kept within a refrigerator and the liquid used from a point outside of the cabinet, thuseliminating ,frequent opening and shutting of the refrigerator door. Such an arrangement is economical to manufacture and simple in its operation. It has comparatively few parts and is convenient to keep clean.

The operation of the preferred form, which is' that shown in Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive, is as follows:

The liquid to be cooled is placed in the container 8. This is done by removing the container from its position within the refrigerator by the handle 8'. By raising the forward end of the container and pulling the container outwardly, the bevelled lug 48 will cause the rear end of the container to raise as it is moved forward. the bevelled lug being supported along each side of the base by the flanges 6' of the bracket. This will support the container above the bracket at such a distance as not to interfere with the filling cap and valve 42. When the container is removed, it is turned so that the filling cap will extend upwardly. In this position the cap may be removed and the container filled. When the container has been filled, the cap is replaced, and the container again turned sothat the cap extends downwardly. In this position the container is replaced upon the bracket. When the container isin its pr p r position, the bevelled 111$ 48 will extend beyond the surface 8a 01' the bracket 6, and will allow the valve stem 43 to contact the finger l6 extendingupwardly from the bracket for opening the valve 44 and allowing the liquid to accumulate in the well ii of the bracket. .As the liquid is drawn oil through the supply pipe 22 and the liquid drops below the neck of the container, the remainder of the liq- While the invention has been' described in detail, it is not intended that the scope of the invention shall be limited thereto, as the invention i best described in the following claims.

We claim:

1. The combination with a refrigerator wall, a liquid receiving receptacle within the refrigerator and'adjacent the inner side of said wall, a dispensing recess within the outer side of said wall and below the receptacle, of means for supporting and connecting said receptacle to the dispensing recess for dispensing purposes, said means comprising a horizontally disposed supporting bracket for the receptacle, said bracket being secured to the inner side of the wall, a well within the bracket, a normally closed valve carried by the receptacle and adapted to be unseated when the receptacle is-placed on the bracket. a valve unseating member carried by .the bracket and extending upwardly through the bracket well, a faucet in the dispensing recessin the outer face of the wall and a pipe connection between the bottom of the well in the bracket outward movement of the receptacle for closin the valve when the receptacle is removed from the bracket.

BERNARD J. TAYMANS. GEORGE M. GLAZIER. 

